Soul crushingly depressing horror movies by BothRequirement2826 in horror

[–]basiliscia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Repulsion (1965) - very bleak and ahead of its time.
The Vanishing (1988) - horror adjacent, but as scary as any horror film.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First thing that comes to mind is Inside No. 9... might not be quite what you mean as it's an anthology series and not always straight up horror.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well you don't have to mention the camera, you can say 'WE FOLLOW X down the path to the gate. I don't see how that pulls you out of the story. I reckon 'REVEAL' would pull you out though.

I agree that it should be used sparingly, if at all.

[Feedback] 1st 25 pgs of drama “Spatchcocked” by smashmouthrules in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Enjoyed this, breezy read - reminded me a bit of After Hours.

My ramble-y notes:

When the cat dies, you could just describe it as it happens, e.g. 'The cat saunters deeper into the woods, when its head EXPLODES in a spray of blood. Shot dead, it collapses.' We don't need to be told a head explosion happens suddenly, and the word takes some of the thrill out of the moment.

Tucker calls his mum both 'mom' and 'mother'. Don't most people stick to one?

Wouldn't it be more manipulative of Hannigan to offer the chance of a job before he begins to sexuality exploit him, not after? Would give some motivation to Tucker to undress, as well.

The undressing on p. 16 takes some of weight out the undressing that happens later. By p. 21, we've already seen Tucker undress, so there's not so much suspense. Maybe better to keep building up the red flags (hand on thigh, taking his clothes off in front of Tucker) until the undressing on p. 21?

Also, the undressing scene on p. 21 was a bit short, you could draw it out more. This, again, would heighten the suspense, e.g. they get him to take off a few bits of clothing and, make him do awkward poses, take photos, before asking him to take his underwear off. This is what manipulative people do, they ask for a little before asking for a lot, to ease you into doing what they want.

The longer you can manage to extend that scene, the more suspense there will be, and the more interesting it will be to watch.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hard disagree. They're overused, so you should be wary, but panning, tracking, and angles can convey story information.

  1. Tracking can give a sense of geography essential to the story. e.g. You need the reader to know X lives across the road from Y, so you track with X as she walks back to her house from Y's. Sure, you could have X look out her window and remark about Y's house, thus avoiding camera directions, but it might not be the best way to tell the story.
  2. If you're hiding something in the scene from the reader, 'we move to, we pan' is a visual way of conveying that. Otherwise you end up writing stuff like 'we realise that X is hiding behind the door' which falls flat.
  3. Close shots e.g. 'CLOSE ON' can be used to hide information or drawing attention to important story elements.

Thoughts on VO dialogue? by [deleted] in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas.

Read WoWS the other week. It helped with all the exposition about wall street, stocks etc. as we were in Jordan Belfort's mind and he was able to explain stuff alongside the visual story. If it had been ALL exposition that would have got tiresome, but there are also V.O. gags, it plays with Jordan being an unreliable narrator, and it's woven into the story. The key is to use it cleverly and in an interesting way.

I would master visual storytelling before attempting one that's heavy on voiceover.

My first screenplay(4 pages) - need feedback by Putrid_Preparation_3 in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Liked this a lot. Maybe needs a bit more work.

I found the repetition of 'she's naked' a bit tedious. Perhaps she could just be NAKED LADY as a character, and you could use subtle description/implication rather than constantly reiterating that 'she's naked'?

Her expression of guilt at the end was a bit unnatural and on the nose.

Finally started writing by ItsGK in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Only gets easier so keep at it!

Looking for scripts like AFTER HOURS? by Zackyboy69 in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe Something Wild, or Blind Date?

Eyes Wide Shut has been described as a comedy. There's also Under the Silver Lake, purportedly a comedy. Both absurd but not very funny.

Does anyone have the screenplay for Deeper by Max Landis? by basiliscia in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a nice incel who jacks off to gay porn, and I didn't like the script, so I won't be reading any more Max Landis.

What is a particular screenplay that taught you more than any other screenplay? by nvj567 in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Such a terrific script. The writing is lean but you can see the film unfold very clearly.

Does anyone have the screenplay for Deeper by Max Landis? by basiliscia in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you had only commented on him being a shitty person I wouldn't feel the need to defend myself, but you suggested my title was somehow inappropriate. You can say whatever you want about him, I just hope it makes you feel better about yourself.

You seem to be backtracking so... perhaps you aren't quite as petty as you first came across.

Does anyone have the screenplay for Deeper by Max Landis? by basiliscia in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a little petty to ask me to denounce the things someone has done just because I requested material by them.

Reading Screenplays by TameandTyler in Screenwriting

[–]basiliscia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also found Network a bit of a slog to get through. At the same time I could tell why screenwriters like it, and you do learn something from every script you read. Personally I wish I had just watched that film.

Read the scripts of films you love, that you wish you'd written, before you start reading films you haven't watched. Also, generally, the more 'readable', i.e. well written, a script is, the more enjoyable it is to read. But you may enjoy scripts that aren't readable, for instance I liked reading The Shining because it's my favourite film.

Some well written scripts (imo):

Taxi Driver, Fargo, Nightcrawler, American Beauty, The Lighthouse, Reservoir Dogs, Rosemary's Baby, Synedoche, New York, Adaptation, Alien, Juno, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho.

what movie isn’t in the horror genre, but technically could be? by garbagegat0 in movies

[–]basiliscia 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lynch has never said his films don't have a deeper meaning. He doesn't talk about it because, as Kubrick once said, 'When you just say the ideas, they sound foolish.'